Olympus confirms new Four Thirds body

New camera for "core customers" in the offing

Olympus has confirmed that its Four Thirds range of cameras will soon have a new addition

Olympus has confirmed, after much speculation, that it is working on a new body for its range of Four Thirds lenses.

Akira Watanabe from Olympus Japan said that active development of a new camera was currently taking place, but was unable to give many more details.

Many had suspected that Olympus would no longer create cameras in its Four Thirds range, as the last time it introduced a new model was back in 2010.

Since then, it has concentrated on its smaller Micro Four Thirds options such as the PEN and the OM-D.

Speaking to TechRadar at a meeting in Frankfurt, Watanabe said, "Olympus regards its Four Thirds customers as its core customers and we are planning to make a body that will utilise our super high quality lenses."

Traditional

Watanabe was unable to confirm whether the camera would be a traditional DSLR type design or a mirrorless device.

Speaking about the challenges faced by DSLRs in a marketplace where compact system cameras are becoming ever more popular, he said that two key technologies need to be improved before DSLRs will be superseded - the AF system and the EVF.

He said that continuous autofocus was the biggest challenge, while EVFs needed to have a higher resolution, faster frame rates and better contrast.